6111.03
Water pollution control powers of director of environmental protection.

The director of
environmental protection may do any of the following:

(A)
Develop plans and programs for the prevention, control, and abatement of new or
existing pollution of the waters of the state;

(B)
Advise, consult, and cooperate with other agencies of the state, the federal
government, other states, and interstate agencies and with affected groups,
political subdivisions, and industries in furtherance of the purposes of this
chapter. Before adopting, amending, or rescinding a standard or rule pursuant
to division (G) of this section or section 6111.041 or 6111.042 of the Revised
Code, the director shall do all of the following:

(1)
Mail notice to each statewide organization that the director determines
represents persons who would be affected by the proposed standard or rule,
amendment thereto, or rescission thereof at least thirty-five days before any
public hearing thereon;

(2)
Mail a copy of each proposed standard or rule, amendment thereto, or rescission
thereof to any person who requests a copy, within five days after receipt of
the request therefor;

(3)
Consult with
appropriate state and local government agencies or their representatives,
including statewide organizations of local government officials, industrial
representatives, and other interested persons.

Although the director is
expected to discharge these duties diligently, failure to mail any such notice
or copy or to so consult with any person shall not invalidate any proceeding or
action of the director.

(C)
Administer grants from the federal government and from other sources, public or
private, for carrying out any of its functions, all such moneys to be deposited
in the state treasury and kept by the treasurer of state in a separate fund
subject to the lawful orders of the director;

(D)
Administer state grants for the construction of sewage and waste collection and
treatment works;

(E)
Encourage,
participate in, or conduct studies, investigations, research, and
demonstrations relating to water pollution, and the causes, prevention,
control, and abatement thereof, that are advisable and necessary for the
discharge of the director's duties under this chapter;

(F)
Collect and disseminate information relating to water pollution and prevention,
control, and abatement thereof;

(G)
Adopt, amend, and rescind rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised
Code governing the procedure for hearings, the filing of reports, the issuance
of permits, the issuance of industrial water pollution control certificates,
and all other matters relating to procedure;

(H)
Issue, modify, or revoke orders to prevent, control, or abate water pollution
by such means as the following:

(1)
Prohibiting
or abating discharges of sewage, industrial waste, or other wastes into the
waters of the state;

(2)
Requiring
the construction of new disposal systems or any parts thereof, or the
modification, extension, or alteration of existing disposal systems or any
parts thereof;

(3)
Prohibiting
additional connections to or extensions of a sewerage system when the
connections or extensions would result in an increase in the polluting
properties of the effluent from the system when discharged into any waters of
the state;

(4)
Requiring
compliance with any standard or rule adopted under sections 6111.01 to 6111.05
of the Revised Code or term or condition of a permit.

In the making of those
orders, wherever compliance with a rule adopted under section 6111.042 of the
Revised Code is not involved, consistent with the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act, the director shall give consideration to, and base the
determination on, evidence relating to the technical feasibility and economic
reasonableness of complying with those orders and to evidence relating to
conditions calculated to result from compliance with those orders, and their
relation to benefits to the people of the state to be derived from such
compliance in accomplishing the purposes of this chapter.

(I)
Review
plans, specifications, or other data relative to disposal systems or any part
thereof in connection with the issuance of orders, permits, and industrial
water pollution control certificates under this chapter;

(1)
Issue, revoke, modify, or deny sludge management permits and permits for the
discharge of sewage, industrial waste, or other wastes into the waters of the
state, and for the installation or modification of disposal systems or any
parts thereof in compliance with all requirements of the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act and mandatory regulations adopted thereunder, including
regulations adopted under section 405 of the Federal Water Pollution Control
Act, and set terms and conditions of permits, including schedules of
compliance, where necessary. Any person who discharges, transports, or handles
storm water from an animal feeding facility, as defined in section 903.01 of
the Revised Code, or pollutants from a concentrated animal feeding operation,
as both terms are defined in that section, is not required to obtain a permit
under division (J)(1) of this section for the installation or modification of a
disposal system involving pollutants or storm water or any parts of such a
system on and after the date on which the director of agriculture has finalized
the program required under division (A)(1) of section 903.02 of the Revised
Code. In addition, any person who discharges, transports, or handles storm
water from an animal feeding facility, as defined in section 903.01 of the
Revised Code, or pollutants from a concentrated animal feeding operation, as
both terms are defined in that section, is not required to obtain a permit
under division (J)(1) of this section for the discharge of storm water from an
animal feeding facility or pollutants from a concentrated animal feeding
operation on and after the date on which the United States environmental
protection agency approves the NPDES program submitted by the director of
agriculture under section 903.08 of the Revised Code.

Any permit terms and
conditions set by the director shall be designed to achieve and maintain full
compliance with the national effluent limitations, national standards of
performance for new sources, and national toxic and pretreatment effluent
standards set under that act, and any other mandatory requirements of that act
that are imposed by regulation of the administrator of the United States
environmental protection agency. If an applicant for a sludge management permit
also applies for a related permit for the discharge of sewage, industrial
waste, or other wastes into the waters of the state, the director may combine
the two permits and issue one permit to the applicant.

A sludge management
permit is not required for an entity that treats or transports sewage sludge or
for a sanitary landfill when all of the following apply:

(a)
The
entity or sanitary landfill does not generate the sewage sludge.

(b)
Prior to receipt at the sanitary landfill, the entity has ensured that the
sewage sludge meets the requirements established in rules adopted by the
director under section 3734.02 of the Revised Code concerning disposal of
municipal solid waste in a sanitary landfill.

(c)
Disposal of the sewage sludge occurs at a sanitary landfill that complies with
rules adopted by the director under section 3734.02 of the Revised Code.

As used in division
(J)(1) of this section, "sanitary landfill" means a sanitary landfill facility,
as defined in rules adopted under section 3734.02 of the Revised Code, that is
licensed as a solid waste facility under section 3734.05 of the Revised
Code.

(2)
An
application for a permit or renewal thereof shall be denied if any of the
following applies:

(a)
The
secretary of the army determines in writing that anchorage or navigation would
be substantially impaired thereby;

(b)
The
director determines that the proposed discharge or source would conflict with
an areawide waste treatment management plan adopted in accordance with section
208 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act;

(c)
The
administrator of the United States environmental protection agency objects in
writing to the issuance or renewal of the permit in accordance with section 402
(d) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act;

(d)
The
application is for the discharge of any radiological, chemical, or biological
warfare agent or high-level radioactive waste into the waters of the United
States.

(3)
To achieve
and maintain applicable standards of quality for the waters of the state
adopted pursuant to section 6111.041 of the Revised Code, the director shall
impose, where necessary and appropriate, as conditions of each permit, water
quality related effluent limitations in accordance with sections 301, 302, 306,
307, and 405 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and, to the extent
consistent with that act, shall give consideration to, and base the
determination on, evidence relating to the technical feasibility and economic
reasonableness of removing the polluting properties from those wastes and to
evidence relating to conditions calculated to result from that action and their
relation to benefits to the people of the state and to accomplishment of the
purposes of this chapter.

(4)
Where a discharge having a thermal component from a source that is constructed
or modified on or after October 18, 1972, meets national or state effluent
limitations or more stringent permit conditions designed to achieve and
maintain compliance with applicable standards of quality for the waters of the
state, which limitations or conditions will ensure protection and propagation
of a balanced, indigenous population of shellfish, fish, and wildlife in or on
the body of water into which the discharge is made, taking into account the
interaction of the thermal component with sewage, industrial waste, or other
wastes, the director shall not impose any more stringent limitation on the
thermal component of the discharge, as a condition of a permit or renewal
thereof for the discharge, during a ten-year period beginning on the date of
completion of the construction or modification of the source, or during the
period of depreciation or amortization of the source for the purpose of section
167 or 169 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, whichever period ends
first.

(5)
The director
shall specify in permits for the discharge of sewage, industrial waste, and
other wastes, the net volume, net weight, duration, frequency, and, where
necessary, concentration of the sewage, industrial waste, and other wastes that
may be discharged into the waters of the state. The director shall specify in
those permits and in sludge management permits that the permit is conditioned
upon payment of applicable fees as required by section 3745.11 of the Revised
Code and upon the right of the director's authorized representatives to enter
upon the premises of the person to whom the permit has been issued for the
purpose of determining compliance with this chapter, rules adopted thereunder,
or the terms and conditions of a permit, order, or other determination. The
director shall issue or deny an application for a sludge management permit or a
permit for a new discharge, for the installation or modification of a disposal
system, or for the renewal of a permit, within one hundred eighty days of the
date on which a complete application with all plans, specifications,
construction schedules, and other pertinent information required by the
director is received.

(6)
The director
may condition permits upon the installation of discharge or water quality
monitoring equipment or devices and the filing of periodic reports on the
amounts and contents of discharges and the quality of receiving waters that the
director prescribes. The director shall condition each permit for a
government-owned disposal system or any other "treatment works" as defined in
the Federal Water Pollution Control Act upon the reporting of new introductions
of industrial waste or other wastes and substantial changes in volume or
character thereof being introduced into those systems or works from "industrial
users" as defined in section 502 of that act, as necessary to comply with
section 402(b)(8) of that act; upon the identification of the character and
volume of pollutants subject to pretreatment standards being introduced into
the system or works; and upon the existence of a program to ensure compliance
with pretreatment standards by "industrial users" of the system or works. In
requiring monitoring devices and reports, the director, to the extent
consistent with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, shall give
consideration to technical feasibility and economic reasonableness and shall
allow reasonable time for compliance.

(7)
A
permit may be issued for a period not to exceed five years and may be renewed
upon application for renewal. In renewing a permit, the director shall consider
the compliance history of the permit holder and may deny the renewal if the
director determines that the permit holder has not complied with the terms and
conditions of the existing permit. A permit may be modified, suspended, or
revoked for cause, including, but not limited to, violation of any condition of
the permit, obtaining a permit by misrepresentation or failure to disclose
fully all relevant facts of the permitted discharge or of the sludge use,
storage, treatment, or disposal practice, or changes in any condition that
requires either a temporary or permanent reduction or elimination of the
permitted activity. No application shall be denied or permit revoked or
modified without a written order stating the findings upon which the denial,
revocation, or modification is based. A copy of the order shall be sent to the
applicant or permit holder by certified mail.

(K)
Institute or cause to be instituted in any court of competent jurisdiction
proceedings to compel compliance with this chapter or with the orders of the
director issued under this chapter, or to ensure compliance with sections
204(b), 307, 308, and 405 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act;

(M)
Certify to
the government of the United States or any agency thereof that an industrial
water pollution control facility is in conformity with the state program or
requirements for the control of water pollution whenever the certification may
be required for a taxpayer under the Internal Revenue Code of the United
States, as amended;

(N)
Issue,
modify, and revoke orders requiring any "industrial user" of any publicly owned
"treatment works" as defined in sections 212(2) and 502(18) of the Federal
Water Pollution Control Act to comply with pretreatment standards; establish
and maintain records; make reports; install, use, and maintain monitoring
equipment or methods, including, where appropriate, biological monitoring
methods; sample discharges in accordance with methods, at locations, at
intervals, and in a manner that the director determines; and provide other
information that is necessary to ascertain whether or not there is compliance
with toxic and pretreatment effluent standards. In issuing, modifying, and
revoking those orders, the director, to the extent consistent with the Federal
Water Pollution Control Act, shall give consideration to technical feasibility
and economic reasonableness and shall allow reasonable time for
compliance.

(O)
Exercise all
incidental powers necessary to carry out the purposes of this
chapter;

(P)
Certify or
deny certification to any applicant for a federal license or permit to conduct
any activity that may result in any discharge into the waters of the state that
the discharge will comply with the Federal Water Pollution Control
Act;

(Q)
Administer
and enforce the publicly owned treatment works pretreatment program in
accordance with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. In the administration
of that program, the director may do any of the following:

(2)
Approve and deny requests for approval of publicly owned treatment works
pretreatment programs, oversee those programs, and implement, in whole or in
part, those programs under any of the following conditions:

(a)
The
director has denied a request for approval of the publicly owned treatment
works pretreatment program;

(b)
The
director has revoked the publicly owned treatment works pretreatment
program;

(c)
There is no
pretreatment program currently being implemented by the publicly owned
treatment works;

(d)
The publicly
owned treatment works has requested the director to implement, in whole or in
part, the pretreatment program.

(3)
Require that a publicly owned treatment works pretreatment program be
incorporated in a permit issued to a publicly owned treatment works as required
by the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, require compliance by publicly
owned treatment works with those programs, and require compliance by industrial
users with pretreatment standards;

(7)
Adopt, amend, or rescind rules and issue, modify, or revoke orders necessary
for the administration and enforcement of the publicly owned treatment works
pretreatment program.

Any approval of a
publicly owned treatment works pretreatment program may contain any terms and
conditions, including schedules of compliance, that are necessary to achieve
compliance with this chapter.

(R)
Except as otherwise provided in this division, adopt rules in accordance with
Chapter 119. of the Revised Code establishing procedures, methods, and
equipment and other requirements for equipment to prevent and contain
discharges of oil and hazardous substances into the waters of the state. The
rules shall be consistent with and equivalent in scope, content, and coverage
to section 311(j)(1)(c) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and
regulations adopted under it. The director shall not adopt rules under this
division relating to discharges of oil from oil production facilities and oil
drilling and workover facilities as those terms are defined in that act and
regulations adopted under it.

(1)
Administer and enforce a program for the regulation of sludge management in
this state. In administering the program, the director, in addition to
exercising the authority provided in any other applicable sections of this
chapter, may do any of the following:

(a)
Develop plans and programs for the disposal and utilization of sludge and
sludge materials;

(b)
Encourage,
participate in, or conduct studies, investigations, research, and
demonstrations relating to the disposal and use of sludge and sludge materials
and the impact of sludge and sludge materials on land located in the state and
on the air and waters of the state;

(c)
Collect and disseminate information relating to the disposal and use of sludge
and sludge materials and the impact of sludge and sludge materials on land
located in the state and on the air and waters of the state;

(d)
Issue, modify, or revoke orders to prevent, control, or abate the use and
disposal of sludge and sludge materials or the effects of the use of sludge and
sludge materials on land located in the state and on the air and waters of the
state;

(e)
Adopt and
enforce, modify, or rescind rules necessary for the implementation of division
(S) of this section. The rules reasonably shall protect public health and the
environment, encourage the beneficial reuse of sludge and sludge materials, and
minimize the creation of nuisance odors.

The director may specify
in sludge management permits the net volume, net weight, quality, and pollutant
concentration of the sludge or sludge materials that may be used, stored,
treated, or disposed of, and the manner and frequency of the use, storage,
treatment, or disposal, to protect public health and the environment from
adverse effects relating to those activities. The director shall impose other
terms and conditions to protect public health and the environment, minimize the
creation of nuisance odors, and achieve compliance with this chapter and rules
adopted under it and, in doing so, shall consider whether the terms and
conditions are consistent with the goal of encouraging the beneficial reuse of
sludge and sludge materials.

The director may
condition permits on the implementation of treatment, storage, disposal,
distribution, or application management methods and the filing of periodic
reports on the amounts, composition, and quality of sludge and sludge materials
that are disposed of, used, treated, or stored.

An approval of a
treatment works sludge disposal program may contain any terms and conditions,
including schedules of compliance, necessary to achieve compliance with this
chapter and rules adopted under it.

(2)
As
a part of the program established under division (S)(1) of this section, the
director has exclusive authority to regulate sewage sludge management in this
state. For purposes of division (S)(2) of this section, that program shall be
consistent with section 405 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and
regulations adopted under it and with this section, except that the director
may adopt rules under division (S) of this section that establish requirements
that are more stringent than section 405 of the Federal Water Pollution Control
Act and regulations adopted under it with regard to monitoring sewage sludge
and sewage sludge materials and establishing acceptable sewage sludge
management practices and pollutant levels in sewage sludge and sewage sludge
materials.

This chapter authorizes
the state to participate in any national sludge management program and the
national pollutant discharge elimination system, to administer and enforce the
publicly owned treatment works pretreatment program, and to issue permits for
the discharge of dredged or fill materials, in accordance with the Federal
Water Pollution Control Act. This chapter shall be administered, consistent
with the laws of this state and federal law, in the same manner that the
Federal Water Pollution Control Act is required to be administered.

This section does not
apply to residual farm products and manure disposal
systems and related management and conservation practices subject to rules
adopted pursuant to division (E) (1) of section 1511.02 of the Revised Code.
For purposes of this exclusion, "residual farm
products" and "manure" have the same meanings as in section 1511.01 of the
Revised Code. However, until the date on which the United States
environmental protection agency approves the NPDES program submitted by the
director of agriculture under section 903.08 of the Revised Code, this
exclusion does not apply to animal waste treatment works having a controlled
direct discharge to the waters of the state or any concentrated animal feeding
operation, as defined in 40 C.F.R. 122.23(b)(2). On and after the date on which
the United States environmental protection agency approves the NPDES program
submitted by the director of agriculture under section 903.08 of the Revised
Code, this section does not apply to storm water from an animal feeding
facility, as defined in section 903.01 of the Revised Code, or to pollutants
discharged from a concentrated animal feeding operation, as both terms are
defined in that section. Neither of these exclusions applies to the discharge
of animal waste into a publicly owned treatment works.